Turnbull says Australia to upgrade co-operation with Israel

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has announced that Australia is to upgrade co-operation with Israel on defence and national security while Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg

will chair a roundtable of energy and technology companies when in Israel.

Malcolm Turnbull and Benjamin Netanyahu

Talking ahead of his departure to Israel Malcolm Turnbull said: “This week I will travel to Israel to attend the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba.

On 31 October 1917 regiments of the Australian Light Horse Brigade captured the city of Beersheba. It was a momentous victory and one of the last great cavalry charges in history.

I am honoured to represent Australia at the 100th anniversary commemorations of this historic charge, where 31 Australians paid the ultimate sacrifice.

This visit will deepen and strengthen Australia’s ties with Israel, and build on the bilateral relationship that our two nations share.

It is an opportunity to cement the commitments made during Prime Minister Netanyahu’s historic visit to Australia in February.

I look forward to reinforcing our increasingly diverse relationship and discussing areas of mutual interest, including science and technology, innovation, security and trade and investment.

Our defence ties have become a vital part of the relationship between Australia and Israel. As a result of this visit we aim to upgrade the cooperation on defence, national security, and the protection of crowded places.

Our nations can learn a great deal from each other in order to strengthen security and keep our citizens safe.

I will be accompanied on this visit by Minister for Veterans Affairs’ and Cyber Security, Dan Tehan.

Josh Frydenberg

Josh Frydenberg said: I am also travelling to Israel to attend commemorations in Beersheba with Malcolm Turnbull and Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, to mark the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba.

The Battle of Beersheba took place on 31 October 1917 as part of a wider British offensive known as the third Battle of Gaza.

The final phase of the Battle included the famous charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade which saw British and allied forces break Turkish defences and led to the British Empire breaking through the Ottoman forces line near Gaza. This include d Light Horse regiments from Australia. I feel honoured to attend these commemorations to remember our fallen heroes.

While in Israel, I will meet with Dr Yuval Steinitz MK, Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water, to promote further collaboration and bilateral engagement on a range of energy issues. It will also provide an opportunity for me to share recent announcements related to the National Energy Guarantee.

At a meeting with General Electric, we will discuss developments in Israel solar technology such as Megalim solar and the Gilboa pumped hydro plant.

When operational, the electricity generated by Megalim’s solar thermal plant Ashelim will be enough to supply 120,000 homes. The project will also create up to 1,000 jobs at peak construction. The Gilboa pumped hydro energy storage plant is presently in the construction stage and is designed to produce 300 megawatts at electrical peak tariff hours by utilising an elevation dif ference of about 510 metres.

I will host a roundtable of energy and technology companies which specialise in battery storage solutions and the creation of new storage solutions and batteries.

Participants like Phinergy, Storedot, ETV Energy along with Negev Energy and GE Israel will discuss Israel’s experiences with lithium batteries, pumped hydro, solar power and methods that enable clean energy to be more effectively transferred to the electricity grid. GE will also participate in the roundtable discussions.

I look forward to reinforcing Australia’s strong ties with Israel and the pursuit of understanding evolving and developing technologies for energy solutions.

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